Relay Hawaii Equipment Program (RHEP)

What is RHEP?

Relay Hawaii Equipment Program (RHEP) provides communication tools to people who do not currently have any type of relay equipment.

Hawai`i residents or kama`aina who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or have a speech disability are eligible to receive specialized equipment at no cost.

Training and equipment installation are provided at no charge.  Click here to request training or installation.

Demonstrations can be given at the RHEP office, workshops, conferences, and meetings at no charge.  Click here to request a training.

Application, Repair, and Order forms, and Guidelines are available to download. Click here to go to links. 

What type of equipment is available?

• Ultratec Superprint 4425 (TTY)
• Ultratec Uniphone 1140 (Hearing Carry-Over (HCO) and Voice Carry-Over (VCO)
• Clarity AltoPlus Digital CID (Speech-to-Speech (STS)
• CapTel phone (Captioned Telephone) Click here to go to the Hawaii CapTel website for more information..
• Wireless devices (iPhone, Samsung, or other smartphones as available through the Sprint Relay Store)

Eligibility

To qualify for a device or equipment at no cost, you should:

• Be a Hawai’i state resident or kama’aina
• Have a hearing loss of 40 decibels (dB) or greater as certified by a doctor or audiologist’s report, or have a communication disorder which severely interferes with communicating effectively over the phone, as certified by a physician or speech-language pathologist
• Be responsible for maintaining your own phone service (analog or digital) and/or high-speed Internet service (landline equipment only)
• Qualify for and pass a credit check (wireless equipment only)

Complete an application form (see download link below)

How do I apply for the RHEP?

Simply fill out the application (see the list below). Your application and supporting documents will be reviewed and input into a database. New equipment will be sent directly to you via FedEx or UPS.

To request an application:
If you are interested in filling out the application form in person, you must contact RHEP staff to make an appointment and need to provide the following information:

• Driver’s license or State ID
• Proof of disability and others

For more information, contact:

• Relay Hawaii Equipment Program (RHEP)
  420 Waiakamilo Road 
  Suite 405
  Honolulu, HI 96817
• 866-410-4256 (Fax)
• 808-847-9032 (Voice & Voicemail)
• 808-447-3027 or 808-791-0525 (Videophone)
• relayhawaii@sprint.com (Email)

FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS ANYONE BUT REGISTERED USERS WITH HEARING LOSS FROM USING INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) CAPTIONED TELEPHONES WITH THE CAPTIONS TURNED ON. IP Captioned Telephone Service may use a live operator. The operator generates captions of what the other party to the call says. These captions are then sent to your phone. There is a cost for each minute of captions generated, paid from a federally administered fund. No cost is passed on to the CapTel user for using the service.